Hi everyone...new person here!

I am Jessica, I currently live in upstate New York. I've been a huge fan of black tea my entire life, especially earl grey variations and Russian-made black tea, but have recently got into more herbal infusions.

It comes in a huge bag of full leaf. It's between $10 and $12 online. I originally found it in a Russian market in Boston when I lived there, and have been addicted ever since. I like my black tea a little on the bitter side, and this is great for oversteeping for that bitter taste.

Other than that, I actually really love Tazo's Awake and Earl Grey loose teas. I just bought a tin of Madamoiselle Earl Grey on Serendipitea.com, another great place to buy tea. $5 flat rate shipping!

Strangely Darjeeling is one of the few teas I cannot get into. A little too nutty for me, I think.

I see, I had a fluked thought that Russia might be cultivating their own tea somewhere in that snow-capped land. I remember reading this somewhere that they simply blend tea (ceylon tea in this case) with other things to their taste, then call it Russian tea.

Yeah, it's not anything really special but it has a different aroma than normal Ceylon tea...makes a great breakfast tea! They are also huge fans of Lapsang Souchong over there...which I also enjoy (though most people seem to hate it!)

While old Mother Russia never really grew tea, a couple lands that became part of the Russian empire or USSR did. Georgia, which old Russia incorporated in 1801, opened its first tea plantations sometime in the 1830s. Georgia declared its independence in 1918, but shortly thereafter became a British protectorate until 1921, when the Soviets invaded and installed a puppet government. Unfortunately, the Georgian tea economy largely collapsed in the 1980s due to a combination of bad farming and bad Soviet management. Georgian tea is currently on the rebound, but is difficult to find in America--especially in good loose leaf.

Under Soviet rule, Azerbaijan also began growing tea in 1930 and eventually developed a nice trade. The Soviets also attempted tea growing in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Ukraine, but it never really took off in those areas. Azerbaijan still grows tea--and tours of their plantations are apparently a nice tourist draw. Like Georgian tea, though, it's hard to find decent loose leaf varieties in America.

But for the record, I'm an atrocious poker player (I bet too conservatively) and an even worse debater (me and extemporaneous public speaking are *not* friendly). I am, however, pretty kick-ass when it comes to JEOPARDY!